28 y/o law graduate (class of 2015) (started uni at 22). Since graduating I did a year in Project Management, and 2 years in sales. Yes, an element of it includes "smashing the phones"to get those prospects but I've also closed deals with CEOs of multi-million $ businesses selling software...so I guess you can say I haven't completely wasted my time since graduating. I failed to get a TC immediately after graduating (I did do a Vac Scheme at a Silver Circle but didn't make the cut for TC) which is why I didn't become a lawyer. But I'm bored of being a sales guy.

I have always always had an interest in Politics (so have always considered Poli Sci as a Masters (or IR)). I also have an interest in Business/Finance, but I don't think studying a Business Masters prepares you to be an entrepreneur. However my sales background COULD be beneficial in some way?

I don't know. That's why I'm here..to ask some advice. Is it worth doing a Masters? What are some decent Masters for Law Grads? Has my sales experience been a waste of time or is there something I can still use it for? I'm kinda worried that I'll be 35 with no real skills behind me...

(Original post by Student-95)
What do you want to do after the master's and can you go into it without the master's?

Well here's the thing...I still don't know. I have a few business ideas that I want to try (major reason I went into sales was to get capital and actual sales experience) and am happy to try them for a year or two. It's more so that if I fail, I'll have at least something that I can fall back on in my early 30s...I don't feel like just having an undergraduate is enough these days, especially if I haven't actually used the law degree to any big extent since graduating.

I don't believe degrees focused in Politics will be better than business subjects, given your aims, unless you're specifically considering some manner of business with a focus on politics. No degree will make you a good entrepreneur but Finance (as well as cognate/similar disciplines, like Economics, Data analytics/science, Management science) etc. would certainly give you a good appreciation of some of the technical aspects of business, although they mostly require anywhere between some to a good degree of competence in maths, depending on the uni. Business Analytics courses tend to be more open to developing that skillset in graduates than some of the others I mentioned.

I honestly think your sales experience will be a better preparation for becoming an entrepreneur than any degree can offer. It's not like you lack skills, if as you say you're good at it. However, you ought to be realistic about your aptitudes and interests before pursuing any technical degree. What they provide is a technical knowledge base and some practical experience, but enthusiasm and entrepreneurial acumen are not things they can imbue in you.

1) Trump's election to the Presidency was the "shocker" of 2016 that some commentators will go on about for many years to come. How did this happen? One word: Globalization. An attempt to dress it up as anything else is a repetition of the denial that caused Trump to win in the first place. Sure, there are some people that voted for Trump because they're racist, but this isn't really a tangible argument from the Left given that President Obama received one of the best turnouts in US Election history.

So what was is about globalization that caused the epidemic of helplessness, distress and outright anger in vast swathes of the country? Put simply, the outsourcing of jobs to countries such as Mexico, and "Gyna" (sorry, couldn't resist) left millions of families unable to put food on the table due to their jobs being lost. Throw in to the mix an out of touch, liberal elite, who continually told them that what they were experiencing wasn't real and told the rest of the country to ignore the "racist deplorables'", and you had the perfect recipe for Trump to seize the opportunity and ride the populist wave.

Needless to say, Trump will win again in 2020. Why is this? Is it because Donald Trump has done everything he promised? No. He hasn't built his wall. He failed to reform ObamaCare. But the economy is growing. Unemployment has fallen. Meanwhile, the Democrats have not learned their lesson. Clinton was supposed to win 2016. Not only did she have the women's vote, but she pitched her whole campaign on "Vote for me, and I will continue Obama's legacy". This is the same Obama who had record number of people turn out to vote for him. And yet in the 2016 election the turnout was piss poor. To whom do we attribute this drop in voter turnout? Is it Clinton's fault? Is it Trump's fault? Or were people so fed up with the continuous hype and let-down by the Washington Elite, that if even Saint Obama couldn't bring real change, then why the hell would they vote for Clinton to continue it? Could it be that they genuinely felt that there was no other option than to vote for Trump, or indeed, not vote at all?

The Democrats have wasted the last 2 and a half years blaming everybody but themselves. It's the deplorables fault, it's RUSSIA'S fault. Trump COLLUDED with Russia. And all of Trump's supporters were racist vile creatures. We were CONNED out of victory. That has been their message for almost the last 3 years. And now that it has been transpired that Trump did in fact, not collude with Russia, the Democrats are left with nothing. They go into the 2020 race having disgraced themselves by refusing to accept the responsibility of their failure to win 2016, by failing to have connected with their own base support, and by even further having alienated the rest of the electorate. All at the same time.

2) Jeremy Corbyn is a Socialist. Socialism vs Capitalism. Look at any history book, and any example you like. Socialism leads to Government control. Which then festers into every aspect of society. With Socialism, the Government controls the industry, which means nobody else is allowed to. Which means innovation instantly begins to decline. It means prices are more expensive because of lower (or no) competition. But demand for the product is the same, so the price actually exponentially increases. This makes people poorer. I also mentioned innovation. What is the incentive to be the best when you control the entire industry? It can be absolutely no coincidence that the West, the (supposed) pinnacle of a Free Market, capitalist society has the highest standard of living in the world, while the economy of socialist countries stagnate, suffer and eventually die.

Furthermore, Socialism is legalised theft. It is the notion that "I can take from you because I don't have". Capitalism on the other hand is "I can't afford to eat unless I provide some sort of tangible value to you". Therefore we can conclude that Capitalism is more altruistic than Socialism, because it forces you to get out there and provide some sort of value to the society so that the society can pay you. With Socialism you can just steal from your wealthier neighbor and the law says its okay. This causes those with wealth to flee and take their money with them. This causes the poor to be even poorer in the long run.

Last thing on Socialism, people always say "Oh that wasn't REAL socialism, it hasn't been done properly before". Ask yourself this honest question, "Out of all the Government's in the world, out of all the regimes in the world where socialism has led to utter devastation. What makes the individual think that THEY, out of everyone that has ever been, has the real answer to socialism and everyone else was just 'so stupid' that they couldn't get it to work. Where does that arrogance come from? Food for thought...

3) I can't be bothered to answer this question. Hopefully the first two will have satiated you enough...

Some random thoughts:
- sales is one of the best skills you can fall back on. Worth way more than some masters degree
- an MBA might be of value for both progressing in sales, starting a business, moving up within organisations
- have you looked at marketing? Or purchasing? Procurement is the other side of sales and has a strong legal/ contractual element.

I'm getting a strong sense of the future business leader- political adviser- candidate vibe.
Your background and answers to Grizwuld's questions remind me of the articles/speeches from Mark Field, MP for the City of London & Westminster constituency.

I think doing a masters or mba would probably do wonders for helping you to enhance your skillset and the corporate/political networking opportunities could be priceless.
Do you prefer to study in London or are you willing to consider Oxbridge too?

(Original post by ltsmith)
honestly you're better off spending money on weed, hookers and coke than on a masters degree.

just get real world working experience. lots of masters (bar a few which are required for professional accreditation) are cash cows aimed at naive students.

MBAs at places like LBS are definitely worth it though

Gives you more enjoyment/£ too. I think MBAs at any triple accredited school is good just for the networking like Aston. However even Aston is a £25,000. LBS £85,000 and I think Oxbridge is £69,000. This is why generally employers pay for MBAs...

(Original post by londonmyst)
I'm getting a strong sense of the future business leader- political adviser- candidate vibe.
Your background and answers to Grizwuld's questions remind me of the articles/speeches from Mark Field, MP for the City of London & Westminster constituency.

I think doing a masters or mba would probably do wonders for helping you to enhance your skillset and the corporate/political networking opportunities could be priceless.
Do you prefer to study in London or are you willing to consider Oxbridge too?

(Original post by Weeping_Angel)
Okay, the title is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but here's the deal:

28 y/o law graduate (class of 2015) (started uni at 22). Since graduating I did a year in Project Management, and 2 years in sales. Yes, an element of it includes "smashing the phones"to get those prospects but I've also closed deals with CEOs of multi-million $ businesses selling software...so I guess you can say I haven't completely wasted my time since graduating. I failed to get a TC immediately after graduating (I did do a Vac Scheme at a Silver Circle but didn't make the cut for TC) which is why I didn't become a lawyer. But I'm bored of being a sales guy.

I have always always had an interest in Politics (so have always considered Poli Sci as a Masters (or IR)). I also have an interest in Business/Finance, but I don't think studying a Business Masters prepares you to be an entrepreneur. However my sales background COULD be beneficial in some way?

I don't know. That's why I'm here..to ask some advice. Is it worth doing a Masters? What are some decent Masters for Law Grads? Has my sales experience been a waste of time or is there something I can still use it for? I'm kinda worried that I'll be 35 with no real skills behind me...

You have a law degree ffs and the job you’ve done gives you loads of transferable skills speak to employability at uni if they allow their alumni? If not do research online think about what you like and what you’d like to do long term and fix up further experience of courses.

I'm not sure of the 'definitely'. The full cost is huge - I doubt you would have much change from £120k plus 2 years lost earnings. Lets guess a cost of £200k. That would pay for a house in many parts of the country plus a distance learning MBA.

For payback you really have to be on a fast track career, move to a low tax country or spend a few years working crazy hours in a consulting firm.

A masters probably won't lead anywhere however it can be valuable 'space' to work towards something in your spare time.

It should also be said that it's bit of a nightmare when it comes to applying for jobs. With an undergraduate degree, you can do summer internships/placements during the degree. There's a window of opportunity to get involved with projects. A masters degree is the whole year through and it's really easy to come out of the end of it with just the degree.

Generally too, universities aren't in the business of helping masters students. I'm familiar with industry now and recently got talking to an academic - he was trying to find businesses to send undergrad students to for placements. A great initiative! However he also said that they don't do anything similar for master's students - I don't think many universities do unfortunately.